Starve for Anything
by WeAreRevolutionaries
Summary: Ginny and Harry's romance as it coincides with raising a child. Teddy's first year, and Ginny's final year at Hogwarts
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I was as rich as JK Rowling, I would not be doing this. I'd be in France, or the Bahamas, or Japan or something, not pulling all-nighters dedicated to fanfiction.

The first time they met Teddy Lupin was his parents' funeral. In a reversal of the events at Fred's funeral, Ginny held Harry as his body wracked with sobs, and kissed his head. The trade-off wasn't entirely fair, they both knew, Harry had loved Fred like a brother, and Ginny loved Lupin as a teacher and Tonks as a friend. But there was a silent agreement that they needed to keep it together for each other.

Andromeda Tonks was planning on grabbing Harry during the gathering at her house afterwards, but as she witnessed the two beaten-down teenagers looking at a picture on the mantle of her daughter, she made an adjustment.

She excused herself, then asked Harry and Ginny if they would come with her.

They entered a large nursery with a sleeping baby.

Andromeda's eyes filled with tears and she spoke as if much older than she was. "Edward Remus Lupin. I understand you are the godfather?" She smiled weakly at Harry.

His breath struggled to come to him, but he eventually mustered a "yes."

She began to cry audibly. "'S so horrible that they would be gone so early. I'm sure Remus envisioned having so much more time before you became a guardian of a child."

She offered a comforting hand to Harry and he grasped it. "Can you handle this? You are seventeen, and I'm sure," she paused and caught her breath," my _son_ would understand."

He sat down on the rocking chair in the room. "He would have, but I wouldn't." He looked more scared than Ginny had ever seen him, and she had seen him plenty scared.

Ginny gave him her hand, and a reassuring squeeze that she hoped would convey everything.

_You wouldn't be doing this alone._

_Andromeda will help._

_Mom's taken care of seven kids and she would have no problem with an eighth._

_I'll be there._

_However and whenever you need me._

It was this last message she hoped reached him.

He squeezed it back and his eyes filled with tears of gratitude.

He mouthed the words, _I love you_.

Andromeda sighed. "I will miss him."

Her eyes were filled with pain and Harry realized just how much Andromeda Tonks was left with. She had lost her entire family to bigotry and war and Teddy was all she had left, of her husband, of her children, of anything. Harry embraced her.

"He'll stay with you. If that's what you want."

Her eyes welled up with more tears. "Are you sure Harry?"

He nodded. "He'll always have a place wherever I am, and I'll help you financially, you know- eventually, but he needs his grandmother. You need him."

Andromeda nodded, on the verge of meltdown, and placed Teddy in Harry's arms.

As no one could ever expect of such a proper woman, she darted out of the room without excusing herself. Ginny gently closed the door behind her and peered over Harry's shoulder at little Teddy.

The baby opened his eyes and his hair changed to the same bubblegum pink of his mother's.

Ginny shuddered and tried to blink back the tears before they fell. Harry felt the tears hit his shoulder and turned to face her. "A lot like his mom, huh?"

She nodded and gulped. "He's sweet like Professor Lupin though. And I bet he's brilliant."

"I'm so scared."

Ginny reached to take the baby from him. "Don't worry, they were too." She cooed at the baby and began to genuinely smile.

"You'll make one bloody brilliant mother, you will."

Ginny went the brightest of reds. "I don't know about that."

"I do." Harry played with a lock of her hair and stared intently at Teddy. "I could use some of that. He _needs _some of that."

Ginny's face matched her hair. "Are you aware of what you're saying?"

Harry was overcome in that moment with affection for the whole picture in front of him. Tears welled up in his eyes again as he kissed the baby, then his girlfriend. "I'm aware."

She kissed him back. "Can I have a moment with Teddy?"

Harry smiled and obliged, to find Andromeda and comfort her.

Ginny smiled down at the baby in her arms.

"I'm fairly certain I will end up your godmother, little Teddy. At least I very well hope so, for a myriad of reasons."

Teddy's hair changed to a furious red to match hers.

"And so I'm just going to treat you like I am, from this moment on. You know I probably should have said it out loud, but Harry will make a great godfather. And father. He's scared right now, which makes sense. I know you don't understand and I hope you never will, but Harry's never had a father. Barring my dad, he's not been provided with excellent examples, so he's insecure and completely clueless right now. He doesn't have a home or a job (which let me put this straight- is not at all unusual right now) and he is scared of putting you in a bad position. But he loves you already, and I saw it in his eyes y'know."

Her eyes welled with tears and her voice cracked. "I wish you could know your parents. I loved them so much. Your mother was a best friend of mine. She was my brother Charlie's age, but I adored her. She was so funny and cheerful and talented and strong and stubborn but she listened to me and she cried with me. See we had a lot in common. Around the same time, Harry left me, and your dad left your mom. Neither was entirely wrong, they had their noble, idiotic purposes and all, but your mother, pregnant and heartbroken, held me and told me what future _I'd_ have. She was an optimistic woman, and she was right for it. Remus came back to her, to you. And Harry came back to me."

She smiled though tears were now falling freely. "And your father was the best teacher I've ever had, and I had McGonagall and Hagrid. We met on the train to Hogwarts, my second year. Now the year before, I'd been possessed by a very bad man, and I had a lot to fear. So when dementors came on board, I probably had it the second worst on that train. But your father brought light into the world. He conjured the Patronus that saved us, and he gave me chocolate and comforted me. When he taught, he was amazing. In his class I developed confidence and skill, without which I would be dead or unhappy and most likely both. I can never thank him enough for that, though I tried. He also taught Harry the Patronus charm that year, and Harry was the one that taught it to me."

She rocked the baby. "Harry told me once about something he'd seen that he wished he hadn't. My mum's boggart was of any of us kids dying, or of my parents leaving us without care. Ron and I were underage then. And your dad asked her if she thought he'd let us starve. So you, baby, can rest easy. You won't starve for anything, long as I'm around."

The child fell asleep to a small red-headed girl's eulogy of his parents and she put him back in his crib.

As she left the room to find her family, she paused.

"You are loved, Teddy. So loved."


	2. Chapter 2

Ginny did not want to go to school. Though she did understand the irony of her pleading- considering how she used to beg to go to Hogwarts- she was absolutely furious at her parents for insisting that she go.

"I want to stay here! And I certainly don't want to go back there!" She was reduced to something quite embarrassingly like a tantrum, and tears were running down her face. "EVER AGAIN!"

She ran up to the nursery and looked down at Teddy as she thought.

She usually looked to her boyfriend for understanding in times like this, but she didn't think she'd receive it.

Hogwarts was home for Harry, and she knew how much he wanted to go back. However, the Aurors needed him, and lately he had seemed jealous and wistful of Ginny's fate, to go back.

But no one really understood how much that castle was not her home. The Burrow was her home. Harry's arms were her home. Where Teddy was, she was home.

Not at Hogwarts. Hogwarts held some sort of curse over Ginny's head that she didn't understand.

Her first year, she was possessed by Voldemort himself. She had been tainted, had spilt blood, had nearly killed friends.

Her fourth year, she was tortured, injured, and hated because she knew the truth and fought for it.

Her fifth year, she lost Dumbledore, a man who had shown her a great deal of understanding.

But her last year was what made her dread ever stepping foot in there again. She had lost count of the amount of times she endured the Cruciatus curse, of the times she feared for the life of her and her friends, and of the times she knew people were outside, dying and she felt trapped and hopeless. She had lost a brother in that castle. The boy she looked down on became an orphan in that castle.

Then the door opened to interrupt her thoughts. Harry spoke softly. "I do know how you feel. Feeling differently doesn't mean I don't understand."

Oh, _and_ she'd miss Harry. The thought of being separated again took her breath away.

"Hell, I've been through a lot there too. I only loved it so much because I had friends there, and because adults actually cared about me there. You've got a whole different perspective on it, and I understand."

He wrapped himself around her back and held her hands.

"I don't want to leave you. Or Teddy."

Harry kissed her neck. "We'll be waiting for you. And though I want you to go, I will miss you." He turned her around and kissed her. "A lot."

She managed a grudging smile. "You'll write?"

He nodded and hugged her. "And you'll come home for Christmas and Easter?"

"You couldn't stop me."

Harry smiled and kissed her hair. "We'll find a way to get through this. After that-" He trailed off.

Ginny laughed. "You can be _properly_ domestic with me instead of being a bumbling idiot."

"Yeah that."

She smiled down at the waking baby in the crib, now brimming with spunk and metamorphic abilities. "You'll have to describe everything he does. I'm dead serious. Tell Andromeda. It sucks missing the first year of his life!"

"You won't miss everything."

Ginny frowned at the realization of exactly who would miss everything.

"I shouldn't complain. I mean-"

Harry's eyes glimmered with sadness but still he smiled. "I'm sure they have front row seats. I just wish they could talk to him."

Neither of them spoke again, but they nestled into each other and enjoyed the time they had.

The morning of September 1st, Ginny Weasley woke in the nursery. Her hair was matted in some places and stuck up in some places and she really wished she hadn't slept in her jeans.

But her appearance mattered little to Teddy, who cooed for her instantly as she stood above his crib. His hair melted from his favorite blue to the fierce red of her hair.

"I'm gonna miss you, little guy."

She performed a lazy cleaning spell on herself (her absolute favorite thing about being overage- you don't have to smell when you're running late) and pulled a sweater and another pair of jeans. Then she scooped up Teddy and put him in his seat.

Harry came running into the room. "Ginny! Are you awake?"

Ginny kissed his cheek and smiled. "Of course I am."

"When did you wake up?"

"Two minutes ago."

He laughed and kissed her. "That's what I thought."

Harry was not disguised. He didn't want the attention, but he wanted to snog his girlfriend, and people would have been suspicious of who he was anyway. He opted just to ignore the groups of people staring at him.

He had mildly expected the mob. He had hoped it would not happen but it did.

"HARRY POTTER!"

"THE BOY WHO LIVED!"

"Will you sign my socks?"

"Did you really punch You-Know-Who in the face?"

"Are you going to Hogwarts?! If Harry goes, please let meeee, please mum!"

Harry was agitated. "Excuse me." He cleared his throat. "EXCUSE ME!"

The group of strangers let him go, but stayed uncomfortably close.

"Listen. I'm glad you all are happy the war is over and are grateful for my role in that, but I'd like to inform you that I'm not at all special. I did what anyone would've done if they were in my situation and I was scared and moody and an idiot most of the way. I am done with the war, I _am_ done with school, and I'd quite like to snog my girlfriend now."

The crowd reluctantly dissipated but they still chattered excitedly.

"Good grief. Is it so hard to believe that you'd like to forget all that stuff?"

Harry sighed in exasperation. "Apparently. I'd much rather think about the future though. Especially one with you."

Thus began the snogging. It was subdued far more than he would have liked, but given the public nature of it all, he understood.

Didn't mean Ron and Hermione cared. The two were clearly animals, even at King's Cross. Ever since Hermione moved into Ron's room, Harry was no longer a resident.

In bitterness he thought of how unfair it was, because he and Ginny were forced to alternate between the nursery and her room. But there is no slack given- even to the Chosen One- in regards to a girl with 6-5 older brothers.

As they pulled apart, they embraced again in a hug.

"I love you."

Ginny's eyes filled with tears as she handed off Teddy's carrier to Harry. "I love you too. And you, Teddy Bear."

And she boarded the Hogwarts Express.


	3. Chapter 3

_Dear Ginny,_

_I miss you so much. What day of this torment could it possibly be that has driven me mad with such longing? Why day 2 of course! Teddy's gone back to Andromeda's now and I'm very lonely. Except for Ron, but I don't fancy snogging him much. We're planning on getting a flat this week, probably in Diagon Alley. Close enough to work, but also very conveniently located to Fortescue's. His niece has taken up the business. George has officially decided to reopen Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and he's moving back into his flat up there. Your mom is several levels of weepy over everyone leaving, and I feel awful, but get this- Percy, Percy of all people, is taking a break from the Ministry for a while and is just keeping Molly company. Sometimes, the Humungous Bighead is bound to do something right. It feels sort of wrong leaving the Burrow. Yours was the first family I've had, and it's hard to go. But as I'm a working adult, with grown up needs such as ice cream and a new broom, it was a decision I had to make._

_In Diagon Alley today, I bought a new owl. It was a lot sadder of an experience than I could have possibly imagined and I felt like a prat. It has been more than a year, but she was all the company I had at Privet Drive. It felt weird replacing her, but you, and your minxish ways, have convinced me that renting owls is far too dumb an idea when I plan on sending you hundreds of letters._

_Anyways, tell everyone at Hogwarts I say hello. Well, avoid Trelawney, but aside from that… Oh and I guess, tell Hermione I say hi, since we promised we'd write once a week, and though she is one of my best mates, one day feels like cheating. Ron, however, is currently writing what I can only guess is an entirely pathetic sonnet to our dear friend, and as he is humming Celestina Warbeck, I can only guess that when Hermione undoubtedly reads it to you, that you will gag. (When you read this to her, be sure to leave out that part. She is just as sickenly smitten.)_

_But I'm the bleeding hypocrite here because I'm humming Weird Sisters, because it reminds me of you, and I'm picturing your beautiful laugh as you read this slightly sappy (but undoubtedly crass in comparison to Ron's I'm sure) letter. And of course Ron can't call me out on my biggest bit of hypocrisy, because he doesn't know, but he hasn't proposed marriage at the ripe age of eighteen, not even off-handedly. (Don't read that to Hermione either.) But I love you and I have no regrets, clumsy and dorky at this as I am. I love you, your hair, and your kisses, and the way you are with Teddy. I cannot wait to see you 108 ridiculously agonizing, painful days from now._

_Love,_

_Harry_

…

_Dear Harry,_

_I passed on your messages to all here at Hogwarts. I censored the bits that you asked for, and a little bit more. I'm a possessive person, and I wanted to keep most of your letter all to myself. I felt slightly bad about laughing when Hermione read Ron's letter, but you were so right Harry, it was bloody ridiculous. I wanted to cry for him, but Hermione took care of that. You're right, she is just as smitten as Ron is, though I can't say much for her taste. _

_I too, am plagued by the thought of 108 days before I see you again. Your letter helped some though, and I hope you get this in time for it to help you._

_As for Hogwarts, Harry, it is hard to put it into words. The castle is a safe place Harry, but I am not safe. I am hunted, I swear to you. I'd like to hex you a thousand times over for being the damn Chosen One, or at least for being so bloody irresistible, because I have been questioned relentlessly, being the- I believe my title was "The Girl Who Got the Boy Who Lived." I wanted to throw up only that far in, but it was the bloody beginning Harry, no, not the worst of it. I was asked if I had BLEEDING NAMES FOR YOUR BUTTCHEEKS! MERLIN'S TIT! That was the funniest of the questions, but a lot more were worse. Questions about our sex life were fun as hell- not- because if these eleven year old brats don't understand the words "piss off" they certainly won't understand the hypocrisies and complexities of Ronald Weasley. Questions about the Order suck, because everyone is pretty much gone. Questions about Dumbledore's Army definitely suck, because these kids, these stupid kids, even though they lived through bloody terror, don't understand that combat isn't cool, but that it was necessity only that drove us to fight, and that the fight took children, and that if it didn't take children it took childhoods. Questions about the battles I lived through, fought in, lost a brother in, lost mentors and friends in, and thought I lost you in, these are the questions that I lose it at. I have cried seven different times today which is the worst record ever, and I hate it. I want to be home. _

_I want to look at Fred's picture on the living room wall. I want to remember him, I do, but I want to remember him as my brother who loved happiness. And I want to be that happiness for my family, and especially for George._

_I want to look into Teddy's eyes, and see that his parents were not casualties of the "Harry Potter War" but wonderful people that sacrificed everything for their son's future._

_I want to steal your photo albums again and look at your mum and your dad and Sirius and Remus and silently thank them for the man their sacrifices preserved._

_I want to hold you and tell you yes and know that there was a point to all of that heartache that is bigger than some generic victory and know that you weren't the only one who fought and sacrificed and won, and love you more than they can imagine. Alas, I have to wait 9 months for that, so things look pretty bleak._

_I'm sorry for this ridiculously depressing letter. I'm sure tomorrow I'll be as cheerful as Gilderoy Lockhart signing an autograph, and I wish I could shred this letter and write you then, but I promised._

_I love you,_

_Ginny_

…

Just before she dozed off to sleep, an owl flapped against her dormitory's window. She liked Harry's new bird. It was an idiot just like him. The bird carried a letter _and_ a small package and Ginny decided to open the letter first.

_Dear Ginny,_

_It is September 2__nd__ and I have already cheated. I have written you twice in a day. I am a pathetic fool when it comes to you, Gin. And I am so sorry. I probably should have worn my invisibility cloak throughout my life, then maybe people would leave me (and you, definitely you) alone. Regarding my butt cheeks, I have already christened them as Vernon and Petunia Dursley, but you are free to call them whatever you wish. Regarding our sex life, of that I am sorry, and your prat of a brother will be too. Regarding the serious stuff, I'm so sorry. If you want them to change, you might want to try honesty. Though you are scary as hell when you want to be, you have always been smarter than you are terrifying, and telling those girls how things happened might be just what the doctor ordered for the pandemic of crazy you're dealing with. And if all else fails, or if you can't, call in a favor from Peeves. He regards Weasleys (minus Bill and Percy) with the highest respect. Have him tie them together by their hair or something. _

_You'll survive this, because you are Ginevra Bad-Arse Weasley, and I have faith in you._

_Love you,_

_Harry_

_P.S. You don't need to steal it. It's yours. Don't worry, I remember them just fine._

She ripped the package open and discovered that Harry had sent his photo album. She shook with sudden sobs as she stroked the familiar cover and opened it.

She'd be fine.

She knew it now.


End file.
